The Pursuit of Civil Rights and Public Sector Values in the 21st Century: Examining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Vision in the Trump Era

On August 28, 1963, in front of more than 250,000 civil rights supporters and the world, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream Speech.” From the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial, Dr. King eloquently examined the significant gap between the American dream and
the American reality, in his pursuit of civil rights in the United States of America. Dr. King held
accountable overt white supremacists for violating the dream, and argued that “our federal
government also scarred the dream through its apathy and hypocrisy, its betrayal of the cause of
justice.”

Later in that decade, academics in the field of public administration introduced the concept of
social equity within New Public Administration notably to advance efforts that improve public
accountability, sustain public service needs, and ensure fairness in government. Since that time,
public administrators have served as action agents for women, people of color, the LGBT
population and other marginalized groups to pursue social equity. Current social justice
movements such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and the Transgender Movement demonstrate
that more work is needed before society can actualize the intent of King’s speech. Moving from
a social campaign to sustainable social change defines the future of our American reality.
This edition of the Public Administration Review Symposium examines this critical question: Do
public administrators in the U. S. still uphold civil rights in the 21st Century? The symposium also
welcomes papers that may address the symposium question using a comparative perspective on
the link between access, opportunity, and equity. Regardless of focus, all papers must address
the role of public administrators when pursuing civil rights and promoting public sector values in
a contemporary context. A cross-section of topics is appropriately considered for the
symposium.

Paper proposals are due no later than November 15, 2018, and should include a working title, a
one half to one-page description of the proposed content, organizational affiliation and contact
information for the author(s). Papers selected from among the proposals will be invited to
participate in the symposium but does not ensure publication. Paper drafts will be due May 1,
2019; papers received after that date cannot be blind peer reviewed. The PAR symposium is
anticipated to be published late Fall 2019. The symposium guest editors are: Dr. Richard
Greggory Johnson III, Professor & Program Director, School of Management, University of San
Francisco; Dr. Susan T. Gooden, Interim Dean & Professor, Wilder School of Government and
Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University; and Dr. RaJade M. Berry-James, Associate
Professor, School of Public and International Affairs, North Carolina State University. Please email
questions and proposals to Professor Johnson at rgjohnsoniii@usfca.edu. Dr. Paul Battaglio and
Dr. Jeremy L. Hall are PAR Editors-in-Chief and make all final symposium decisions.